New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones is receiving a fresh start with the team in training camp after the hiring of offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien. While O’Brien replacing Matt Patricia is expected to have a positive influence on the Patriots’ quarterback, some around the league are skeptical of success.
Jones, the 15th overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, got off to a strong start in the league. He earned a Pro Bowl selection as a rookie and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team. Once quarterbacks coach and play-caller Josh McDaniels left New England for the Las Vegas Raiders, replaced by Patricia and Joe Judge, Jones regressed in his second year.
- Mac Jones stats (2022): 14-11 TD-INT, 65.2% completion rate, 6.8 yards per attempt
The Patriots are hopeful that an experienced play-caller like O’Brien helps Jones return to form. New England is also more confident in its receiving corps after signing JuJu Smith-Schuster this offseason. However, some NFL executives don’t think Jones is going to become what the team is hoping for.
As part of Mike Sando’s NFL quarterback rankings, executives and coaches spoke to The Athletic’s reporter about this year’s quarterbacks. Jones, who placed 23rd, received some criticism.
“If you look at the guys in Tier 1 and 2, for the most part, they have an ability to create off-platform, and that has always been my issue with Mac, even coming out. I thought coming out his best-case scenario was you were going to get a Kirk Cousins-type player.”
NFL executive on New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones
Related: Mac Jones called out for ‘disrespectful’ trash talk by NFL veteran
In the tiered rankings, Jones received 37 votes for belonging to the third tier and 13 votes for being a fourth-tier quarterback. He finished just ahead of Brock Purdy, who led the fourth tier of quarterbacks with 23 third-tier votes and 26 fourth-tier votes.
Athleticism and elite arm strength were never attributes strongly associated with Jones. As a Heisman candidate with the Alabama Crimson Tide, he was most effective because of his accuracy, football IQ and ability to operate within the rhythm of an offense.
It puts him in the same tier of quarterbacks who lack above-average physical skills and their production is often a byproduct of the environment they’re playing in. Unfortunately for Jones, NFL executives aren’t high on what New England has built around the third-year quarterback.
“You look at the skill groups, he has the worst supporting cast of any young quarterback. How do you build up his confidence? You have a new coordinator. Great, I hope ‘Billy O’ makes it easy for him, but you have a quarterback who can’t create off-platform, who doesn’t have the run-after-catch guys that Tua has, and it’s tough.”
Anonymous NFL executive on New England Patriots’ skill group, Mac Jones
If Jones and the Patriots offense isn’t successful in 2023, the blame will fall on Bill Belichick. He made Patricia his offensive coordinator last season despite the veteran assistant having no true experience coaching offenses.
- Mac Jones contract: $4.25 million cap hit in 2023, $4.959 million cap hit in 2024
While he fixed the bad decision a year later, the Patriots also low-balled DeAndre Hopkins and lost him to the Tennessee Titans and are still viewed as having one of the worst receiving corps in the NFL. While Jones might not last another year in New England if he struggles this fall, both he and Belichick could be gone in 2024.